I have been checking out these bowls in the 'classifieds' sections of the interweb for some time now, but most of them are either quite expensive, have chips on them or are in a condition that is a bit worste for wear. Recently I have been lucky enough to find a few in good nick, and have decided to pair them up with brushware that has similar personalities. This bowl is paired with a Hardekool brush, textured on the top half, we just love the natural vertical crevice running through the textured section. Hardekool is well known in Afrikaner culture for the beauty it provides to the bushveld landscape, and its fantastic ability to provide flames for a campfire for a looooooong time. Hardekool is also much favoured by the African elly that chows its leaves, smaller branches and bark, they also 'do battle' with the medium sized trees often, mostly to get to the foilage, but sometimes just because they can!
The Battle of Blood river was quite remarkable, it took place on 16 December 1838 near the Ncome River in KwaZulu Natal. The Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Pretorius and the Zulu's under the leadership of Dingane, the Zulu King have been at odds for some time, and this battle was inevitable. About 10 000-16 000 Zulu warriors led by Dingane's generals Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi attacked the Voortrekkers, but the 470 Voortrekkers, with the advantage of gun powder, warded them off. The battle began at dawn and was over by midday. More than 3000 Zulu casualties were counted around the laager (oxwagons arranged in a way to provide shelter and a barricade from an enemy). Only 3 Voortrekkers (including the leader Pretorius) were wounded, none were killed. The Ncome River became red with the blood of the slain. Hence the river became known as "Blood River". If you Google epic battles this one does not feature much, I think mostly so because bigger battles that had a greater impact on history of the world are mostly researched, that being said I cannot find a battle with an outcome as extraordinary as this one, maybe someone could point me to battles with 'similar or better' results?
This bowl was made for centenary celebrations in 1938, the Battle of Blood river was celebrated to advance Afrikaans nationalism and for the vow Pretorius made with the Christian God, the Afrikaners needed to regroup after being declared a sovereign state and this battle was flagged and celebrated to create unity and a sense of belonging. The day is celebrated to this very day, although it has been renamed several times. Afrikaners now celebrate it mostly for its Christian and cultural value, rather than political reasons.
The artwork on the bowl was designed around the theme of the Voortrekkers and the Battle of Blood river, we'll let the pics will do most of the talking. The bowl is nice and compact and has a top diameter of just over 10 cm, and a height of 6 cm, the bottom rim is also 6 cm, the porcelain sets the weight at 180 grams. I believe all of these bowls were made in Holland. The brush is fitted with a 21 mm Finest two band knot, It stands 135 mm tall, has a waist of 24 mm, belly of 39 mm, with the knot set at 53 mm.